Adjustable clock apparatus

ABSTRACT

Chuck apparatus, especially useful for supporting embedded biological specimens in a microtome, is described which has both a rough and a fine spacing adjustment for supporting objects of various sizes.

United. States Patent [191 White [4 1 Apr. 9, 1974 ADJUSTABLE CLOCK APPARATUS 75 Inventor: Fred K. White, Glen Ellyn, 111. [73] Assignee: Miles Laboratories, Inc., Elkhart,

[58] Field of Search 269/236, 9, 95, 153, 157, 269/154, 240, 245, 271, 279, 282, 283

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,335,743 11/1943 Cross 269/157 X 2,770,156 '11/1956 Brettrager 269/283 2,043,125 6/1936 Stahl 3,424,450 1/6969 Atkins... 269/236 X 2,609,717 9/1952 Maroth 269/282 3,290,040 12/1966 Kerr 269/95 2,565,965 8/1951 Hartmann 269/157 Primary ExaminerHarold D. Whitehead [57] ABSTRACT Chuck apparatus, especially useful for supporting embedded biological specimens in a microtome, is described which has both a rough and a fine spacing adjustment for supporting objects of various sizes.

6 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENTED P 9 I974 sum 1 ur 3 FIGURE l.

FMENTEBAPR 9 1914 SHEET 2 0r 3 5O FIG FIGURE 2.

ADJUSTABLE CLOCK APPARATUS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Chuck apparatus are used in various ways to support various articles. In particular, chuck apparatus are used in conjunction with microtomes for supporting embedded biological specimens for slicing by the microtome. The prior art chuck apparatus were generally designed to be used with objects of a fixed predetermined size. Some prior art chucks have also been modified to handle certain varying sized objects, but they have not been completely satisfactory. This is particularly true for microtome chucks.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the present invention an adjustable chuck is provided which comprises a body having a first jaw, a second jaw movable toward and away from a clamping position with respect to the first jaw, a spring biasing the movable second jaw away from the clamping position, a retaining block, a rotatable shaft having a threaded connection with the movable second jaw and having a knob integrally connected thereto capable of engagement with the retaining block, a manually actuable cam pivotally connected to the retaining block and engaging the body, movement of the cam being effective to move the retaining block and thereby the movable second jaw against the bias of the spring, and cooperable means on the knob and retaining block operative, when the knob and retaining block are in engagement, to permit limited rotation of the knob and shaft for minor adjustment of the clamping position of the movable second jaw, such cooperable means capable of being disengageable by predetermined move ment of the knob away from the retaining block against the action of the spring, such disengagement permitting gross rotation of the knob and thereby gross adjustment of the clamping position of the movable second jaw.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front elevation view of the adjustable chuck of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of the apparatus of FIG. 1 taken along line 22;

FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view of a portion of the apparatus of FIG. 1 taken along line 3-3; and

FIG. 4 is a partial front elevation view of a modified form of the apparatus of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring to FIG. I, the chuck apparatus of the present invention has fixed first jaw means 14, movable second jaw means 16, rotatable knob 18 and shaft 20 which-are capable of adjusting the distance between fixed first jaw means 14 and movable second jaw means 16, and a rotatable cam means 22 which is employed to actuate a clamping action of the first and second jaw means on an object to be clamped therebetween.

The first jaw means 14 is attached to a body 12 and is preferably formed as an integral part thereof. First jaw means 14 has a clamping surface 15. As shown in FIG. 2, body 12 is generally of inverted L-shape in side view with the first jaw means 14 forming the base or transverse arm of the L. Body 12 also has an elongated passage extending longitudinally thereof in the form of groove 24 in the front face of body 12 and an aligned opening 25 formed in the first jaw means 14. The upper end of body 12 is formed with a slotor cut away portion defined by a bottom wall 26 and sidewalls 27 and 28. A wear plate 41 having a passage 43 therethrough aligned with opening 25 and groove 24 overlies the surface 26. Atthe lower end of body 12 are located a plurality of internal recesses 30, 32, 34 and 36 which are parallel with groove 24.. Body 12 is also preferably formed with a pair of fixed jaw means 38 and 39 which project from body 12 in the same direction as jaw means 14. Jaw means 38 and 39 are generally Lshaped in cross-section and have inturned flange portions 38a and 39a, respectively, provided with clamping surfaces 38b and 39b on the underside thereof. The presenceof a plurality of fixed first jaw means having different distances from the movable second jaw means 16 enables objects of widely varying size to be clamped by the chuck of the present inventionwith minimum adjustments.

Movable second jaw means 16, as shown in FIG. 2, is generally U-shape in cross-section with one arm of the U terminating in a clamping surface 42 which is in general alignment with surface 15. Jaw means 16 is formed in the other arm of the U with a plurality of recesses 44, 46, 48 and 50 and a threaded passage 52 shown in FIG. 1. The recesses 44, 46, 48 and 50 are coaxially aligned with recesses 30, 32, 34 and 36, respectively, of body 12. The threaded passage 52 is aligned with groove 24. Helical compression springs 54 and 56 are located, respectively, in recesses 32 and 46 and in recesses 34 and 48. Alignment pins 58 and 60 are located, respectively, in recesses 30 and 44 and in recesses 36 and 50.

A rectangular retaining block means 62 is located above the upper end of body 12 and has end surfaces 63 and 64 and a top surface 67. Aligned horizontal threaded bores 65 and 66 are formed in block 62 and communicate, respectively, with end surfaces 63 and 64. A vertically downwardly extending bore 68 communicates with top surface 67 of block 62, and a vertical passage 69 extends through said block and is aligned with opening 25 in body' 12.

Generally U-shaped rotatable cam means 22 has a pair of parallel arm portions 22a and 22b which terminate respectively in cam surfaces 23a and 23b. A transverse handle portion 70 joins the arms 22a and 22b and said arms are formed respectively with aligned bores 71 and 72 and overlie the end surfaces 63 and 64 of block 62. The cam surfaces 23a and 23b are in contact with the wear plate 41 of body 12, and pivot means, such as screws 73 and 74, extend through bores 71 and 72 and are respectively threaded into bores 65 and 66'of the retaining block means 62 A rotatable shaft 20 terminates at its upper end in a knurled knob 18 which overlies block means62, and said shaft extends through passages 69, 43 and 25 and groove 24. The lower end of shaft 20 having threads 80 is threaded into passage 52 of movable second jaw means 16. Movable jaw means 16 is thus supported by shaft 20, and the compression springs 54 and 56 normally force the knob 18 into contact with block 62.

The knob 18 has a lower surface 75 formed with an arcuate groove 76, shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. Groove 76 has ends 78 and 79. A retaining pin 77 is located in bore 68 of retaining block means 62 and fits into groove 76 when knob 18 is in contact with the upper surface 67 of retaining block means 62.

Gross adjustments of the distance between clamping surface of first jaw means 14 and clamping surface 42 of movable second jaw means 16 can be accomplished by manually lifting movable jaw means 16 against the action of the compression springs 54 and 56 so as to raise the knob 18 sufficiently to remove the retaining pin 77 from arcuate groove 76 thereof. Knob 18 is then rotated in the desired direction so that the threaded contact between shaft and movable jaw means 16 moves the jaw means 16 in the desired direction for the desired distance. Once this is accomplished, the manual pressure is released and knob 18 returns to a position in contact with block means 62 with the retaining pin 77 again located within arcuate groove 76 thereof. The alignment pins 58 and 60 prevent rotational movement of the movable jaw means 16 when shaft 20 is thus rotated.

In order to use this chuck, an object to be clamped 82, shown in phanthom in FIG. 2, is positioned between clamping surfaces 15 and 42. Handle 70 of cam means 22 is then depressed to the position shown in phanthom in FIG. 2. This causes rotation of the arms 22a and 22b around the pivots 73 and 74, and the resulting action of the cam surfaces 23a and 23b lifts block 62, knob 18 and movable jaw means 16. This moves the clamping surface 42 of movable jaw means 16 upwardly into clamping contact with object 82 as shown in phanthom in FIG. 2. The clamped object can be released by movement of handle 70 to the original position shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 whereupon the movable jaw means 16 will be lowered to its original position.

Even though the above gross adjustment of the chuck is usually satisfactory, it is often necessary, because of manufacturing tolerances on object sizes, to make minor adjustments to the distance between the clamping surfaces 15 and 42. This is accomplished by minor rotation of knob 18 within the range allowed by retaining pin 77. The knob and shaft dimensions and thread size may be selected, for example, to provide a variation of about 10.015 inches in the distance between clamping surfaces 15 and 42 by rotation of knob 18 throughout the length of arcuate groove 76. If the retaining pin 77 is located in the middle of groove 76 when the gross adjustment is made, counterclockwise rotation of knob 18, as viewed in FIG. 3, until pin 77 abuts against end 78, will provide an adjustment of 0.0l5 in. Clockwise rotation of knob 18, as viewed in FIG. 3, from a middle position until pin 77 abuts against end 79, will provide an adjustment of +0.0 1 5 in. Rotation of knob 18 to intermediate positions will provide intermediate adjustments.

The above description is also pertinent to the use of the novel chuck to clamp objects between clamping surfaces 38b and 39b of the alternate fixed first jaw means 38 and 39 and clamping surface 42 of movable second jaw means 16.

Further variation in the sizes of objects to be clamped by this chuck means can be accomplished by the apparatus shown in FIG. 4. A generally U-shaped removable jaw means 81 is shown having a base 83 and arms 84 and 85. A clamping surface 86 is located along the underface of base 83. The base 83 is placed against the clamping surfaces 38b and 39b and arms 84 and 85 extend generally vertically downwardly along the body 12 and engage opposite edge surfaces thereof. The arm 85 is formed with a horizontal bore 90 and a screw 88 is appropriately extended through said bore and is threaded into a coaxial bore 92 formed in the adjacent edge surface of body 12 to fasten the removable jaw means 81 in operative position. By selection from various sized removable jaw means 81, the appropriate distance from clamping surface 86 to the clamping surface 42 of the movable jaw means can be achieved. The jaw means 81 can be conveniently removed by unscrewing the screw 88 from bore 92.

The novel chuck of the present invention can be used for a wide variety of applications. When it is employed in conjunction with other apparatus, such as a microtome, for example, it is preferred to have an extension 94, shown in FIG. 2, attached to and projecting from the rear of body 12. This extension 94 can then be clamped by the chuck of the microtome. Extension 94 can have any desired shape to fit the companion apparatus. Extension 94 can be substantially straight, as shown, or it can be curved, if desired.

The various adjustments possible with the chuck of the present invention render it especially useful with apparatus for embedded biological tissues. Various manufacturers provide embedding apparatus having different sizes and shapes. It was necessary in the prior art for the user of such apparatus to provide a wide variety of chucks to be employed with his microtome if he desired to employ such different embedding apparatus. The abovedescribed chuck apparatus, however, eliminates the need for different chucks since it is adjustable to accommodate such variety of sizes and shapes.

What is claimed is;

1. An adjustable chuck which comprises a body having a first jaw means, a second jaw means movable toward and away from a clamping position with respect to said first jaw means, spring means biasing said movable second jaw means away from said clamping position, retaining block means, a rotatable shaft axially movable with said second jaw having a threaded connection with said movable second jaw means and having a knob integrally connected thereto capable of engagement with said retaining block means, manually actuable cam means pivotally connected to said retaining block means and engaging said body, movement of said cam means being effective to move said retaining blockmeans, said shaft and thereby said movable second jaw means against the bias of said spring means, and cooperable means on said knob and retaining block means operative, when said knob and block means are in engagement, to limit rotation of said knob and shaft to less than a full revolution for minor adjustment of the clamping position of the movable second jaw means, said cooperable means being disengaged by predetermined movement of said knob away from said retaining block means against the action of said spring means, such disengagement permitting gross rotation of said knob and thereby gross adjustment of the clamping position of said movable second jaw means.

2. An adjustable chuck according to claim 1 wherein the spring means is located between the body and the movable second jaw means.

3. An adjustable chuck according to claim 1 having an alignment pin located between the body and the movable second jaw means.

4. An adjustable chuck according to claim 1 having a plurality of fixed first jaw means attached to said body each having different distancesfrom the movable secing an extension attached to said body, said extension nd Jaw means capable of being employed for attachment of said 5. An adjustable chuck according to claim 1 also having jaw means removably attached to said body.

6. An adjustable chuck according to claim 1 also hav- 5 chuck to other apparatus. 

1. An adjustable chuck which comprises a body having a first jaw means, a second jaw means movable toward and away from a clamping position with respect to said first jaw means, spring means biasing said movable second jaw means away from said clamping position, retaining block means, a rotatable shaft axially movable with said second jaw having a threaded connection with said movable second jaw means and having a knob integrally connected thereto capable of engagement with said retaining block means, manually actuable cam means pivotally connected to said retaining block means and engaging said body, movement of said cam means being effective to move said retaining block means, said shaft and thereby said movable second jaw means against the bias of said spring means, and cooperable means on said knob and retaining block means operative, when said knob and block means are in engagement, to limit rotation of said knob and shaft to less than a full revolution for minor adjustment of the clamping position of the movable second jaw means, said cooperable means being disengaged by predetermined movement of said knob away from said retaining block means against the action of said spring means, such disengagement permitting gross rotation of said knob and thereby gross adjustment of the clamping position of said movable second jaw means.
 2. An adjustable chuck according to claim 1 wherein the spring means is located between the body and the movable second jaw means.
 3. An adjustable chuck according to claim 1 having an alignment pin located between the body and the movable second jaw means.
 4. An adjustable chuck according to claim 1 having a plurality of fixed first jaw means attached to said body each having different distances from the movable second jaw means.
 5. An adjustable chuck according to claim 1 also having jaw means removably attached to said body.
 6. An adjustable chuck according to claim 1 also having an extension attached to said body, said extension capable of being employed for attachment of said chuck to other apparatus. 